the folk opera

2010

 
 

The Folk Opera (as yet untitled) is a performance piece written & composed by Annie Bacon.  It was composed entirely on the ukulele during a 6-week trip to the Middle East and Southern Africa, and uses the operatic form lyrically (as in all text is sung, and themes are drawn out hyperbolically), and folk music form musically (simplistic and repetitive melodies and rich harmonies that tell stories of folks).


“Folk Opera tells of Elizabeth, a caretaker in her twenties in charge of Aunt Sara, an ornery old bird afflicted with Alzheimer’s. Their car breaks down, and in one short afternoon their fates become enveloped in the entrenched personalities and histories of a small town. Tragedy ensues, but not before love can enter the scene, strangers have a chance to win each other over, small town antics abound, and Rita the waitress serves her coffee. And while death sits at the doorstep of this short tale, the fact that Bacon composed the entire opera on her ukulele lends a lighthearted tone to the whole affair.” [Maddie Oatman]

 



  (as yet Untitled)


Upcoming Performances
Of the Folk Opera:


-




We’ll be having an album release in November 2010

No shows scheduled between

now and then, but if you have

ideas let us know!





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Want us to come perform?

Contact Annie at info@anniebacon.me

And let us know when/were!


The Folk Opera has been performed at (in order of performances, first-most recent):


SOCHA Cafe, SF

Nomad Cafe, SF

Pirate Cat Radio, SF

Noe Valley Ministry (Music Series), SF

The Red Door (Hush Hush Sweet Harlot Series), Portsmouth NH

Camp Louise, Highland Mills NY

Nuyorican Poets Cafe, NYC

Brother’s Lounge, Cleveland OH

The Tower, SF

Kaleidoscope, SF

FAR West Regional Folk Alliance Conference, Irvine CA

Adobe Bookstore, SF

Kaleidoscope, SF

The Jalopy Theatre, Brooklyn, NY

Amnesia, SF

Barkissimo, Emeryville Harbor, CA

Elizabeth (Elizabeth Greenblatt)

photo by June Moon

Aunt Sara & Benjamin Defaunt

(Savannah Jo Lack & Joel Stockdill)

photo by June Moon

The string section (Joe Lewis & Annie Bacon)

photo by June Moon

“On this particular night, the audience watching Folk Opera seems to agree; they sit transfixed at the end of the performance. What may have just been a “stop” in a line of events for their evening has held them all in a state of awe.”


~ Maddie Oatman

TheRumpus.net

“Folk Opera . . . soars with the talent and energy of all of its performers.”


[Oatman]



At Left: A Medley of Folk Opera Songs - Live at Adobe Books 12/03/09 edited by

Iris Clearwater

At it’s root the Folk Opera is an exercise in empathy. The folk aspects of the project allow the songs to create an empathic bridge for listeners, while the melodrama of the operatic hyperbole allows them to swim in a deep well of emotion and connect with their own souls, their own sense of loss and love and life.


This was a project that I “discovered” more than “created.” I would wake up from deep sleeps with songs on my lips, and the characters whispered their stories in my ear as I experimented with sounds and lyrics.


It is currently performed with Joe Lewis on the upright bass, Elizabeth Greenblatt singing the lead character (Elizabeth), Joel “Rockit” Dean singing Old Man (aka Benjamin DeFaunt) and the Mechanic, Savannah Jo Lack singing Aunt Sara and playing fiddle, and me, Annie Bacon, playing the ukulele and singing Rita, the waitress.

photo by June Moon

photo by June Moon

** We successfully raised our funds on Kickstarter!! Thank you to all who gave. We’re humbled. We’ve finished the recording and now are in post-production . . . expecting a November 2010 Release! **